


She Wears Short Skirts (I Wear T-Shirts)

by shaneo6930



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, And dealing with a bad girlfriend, Based on a Music Video, Fluff, Happy Ending, Infidelity, Love Confessions, M/M, Newt has a crush, Teresa is a horrible girlfriend, Unrequited Crush, thomas is oblivious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-14 19:06:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14775468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shaneo6930/pseuds/shaneo6930
Summary: Newt is in love with his neighbor Thomas, who is dating Teresa, who isn't the best girlfriend. Over the course of a basketball game and the prom, Thomas starts to realize maybe he'd be happier with somebody else. Somebody right in front of his nose.





	She Wears Short Skirts (I Wear T-Shirts)

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here it is. The Newtmas remake of Taylor Swift's You Belong With Me video that you never knew you wanted! I've been wanting to write this story with one of my OTPs for 10 years, and I finally found the perfect one! 
> 
> Title from You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift

Newt sat in his bedroom , flipping through the channels of his small TV, trying to find something to watch that wasn’t his neighbor Thomas having a fight on the phone with his horrible girlfriend Teresa; a view he could see perfectly out of his window, which looked right into Thomas’ room. 

Newt seriously didn’t know why Thomas and Teresa were together. He literally never saw Thomas smile with her. His twin sister Sonya keeps telling him that he can pine over their hot neighbor all he wants, whoever Thomas is dating is none of Newt’s business.

As he finally settled on something to watch, Newt’s phone buzzed with a new text message. Newt put his remote down and picked the phone up.

Tommy  
9:45pm  
Wanna talk?

He looked up and saw Thomas sitting at his window. Newt walked over to his and opened the glass. The cool spring breeze hitting his face as he leaned out. “Hey, Tommy,” he said as Thomas opened his own window. “What’s going on?” he asked, as if he wasn’t just watching for the last 20 minutes. 

“It’s Teresa, man,” Thomas sighed. “She was just telling me about how she wanted me to act at this fucking party she wants to drag me to this weekend.” 

“Why don’t you stay home?” Newt asked. “You obviously don’t want to go” 

Thomas groaned. “I wish I could, Newt.” 

“What’s stopping you?”

Thomas shrugged. “I just don’t want to piss Teresa off.”

Before Newt could ask why, a voice in Thomas’ house rang out. “Thomas, you’ve got that math test tomorrow. You should get some sleep.” 

“Was that your mum?” Newt asked.

“Yeah,” Thomas replied. “I should get going. Talk tomorrow?”

Newt smiled. “Always, Tommy.” 

Before he could say anything more, Thomas closed his window. He then wrote a note on a small notepad and stuck it in the window. “Goodnight.”

Newt reached over on his desk and grabbed a similar notepad. This was a tradition he and Thomas started when they were kids. Leaving notes in their windows for the other to find. 

On his board, Newt wrote the words “I love you.” As he moved to put it in the window, he saw that Thomas’ curtains were closed. Fighting back tears, he sat the notepad back on his desk and moved back to his bed. He crawled under the covers and turned his light off. 

Back in his room, Thomas hooked his phone up to the charger. That chat with Teresa nearly drained his battery. He honestly didn’t know what he was going to do about her. He honestly didn’t know if he was happy with Teresa. Aside from the fact that she took his virginity, he didn’t know why he stayed with her. Most of the time, she acted like she’d rather be somewhere else with someone else. 

He sat down on his bed and sighed. Maybe he should break up with Teresa, he thought as he laid back on the mattress. It had to be better than this uncertainty he was feeling. 

He started to feel himself drifting off to sleep but jerked awake, remembering the note in the window. His mother almost killed him the last time he left it in the window, and the paper nearly fused to the window glass.

He dragged himself up and pulled back his curtain. After removing the notepad, he noticed Newt’s room was dark. His heart dropped a little, hoping to see a message from the other boy. Oh, well, Thomas thought. He’d see him in the morning. 

The next morning, Thomas walked out of the house with his backpack slung over his shoulder, and started for the bus stop at the end of the block. The crisp, April air feeling amazing on his face made the walk feel shorter than it actually was. Before he knew it, he saw Newt sitting on the bench, his earbuds in, and his nose buried in a book. 

Thomas sat down beside the quiet blonde and gently nudged his shoulder. Newt startled to attention, and took out his earbuds. “Oh, hey, Tommy,” he said, shyly, as he wrapped the earbud cord around his phone and put it in his pocket. “Sorry I didn’t see you.”

“You were wrapped up pretty tight in that book,” Thomas replied. “What are you reading, anyway?”

“Promise not to laugh?” 

“Why would I laugh?” Thomas asked. “You’re one of my best friends. I’d never laugh at you.”

Newt timidly turned the book in his lap around. The cover was an image of Liam Hemsworth staring into the eyes of Miley Cyrus. The title “The Last Song” and author Nicholas Sparks’ name prominent above the image. A smile formed on Thomas’ face. 

“You promised you wouldn’t laugh,” Newt said, frowning as he stuffed the book into his bag. 

“I’m not laughing, Newt,” Thomas said, reaching into his bag. He pulled out a book of his own. A Walk to Remember. “I also like his books.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, my mom left one of them in the bathroom one day. About a divorced woman finding love with a handsome doctor while taking care of her friend’s Bed and Breakfast. I was hooked.” 

Newt smiled. “Nights in Rodanthe. The movie didn’t even compare.” 

Thomas put his book back in his bag. “So, are you taking pictures of the game tonight for the paper?” he asked. 

“As always, Tommy,” Newt said with a grin. “Hope you kick their ass.”

“I’m sure we will.”

Before the conversations could advance farther, a red convertible pulled up to the bus stop. In the driver’s seat was Teresa. “Why are you taking the bus, Tom?” She called out through the open window. 

“I didn’t think I’d have any other option, Teresa,” Thomas replied. He stood up and walked to the car. “Can we bring Newt with us?”

Teresa took of her sunglasses to see Newt sitting on the bench. Her face immediately morphed into that of someone who just stepped in dog poo. “We’re picking up   
Gally and Aris on the way,” she said, not really hiding the disgust in her voice. “Are you coming?” 

Thomas felt he didn’t really have a choice. He turned back to Newt with a sad smile. “Talk later?” 

“Sure thing, Tommy,” he said, getting his book out of his bag. 

Thomas climbed into the car, and shut the door. Before he could even get his seat belt on, Teresa grabbed him by the back of the head, and pulled him in for a kiss that Newt could only describe as deeply pornographic.

Newt just rolled his eyes and returned to his book as Teresa released Thomas and drove away. “She’s not right for you, Tommy,” he said under his breath when the car was out of sight.

That evening was the basketball state finals. Newt sat perched in his normal spot in the upper balcony of the school’s gym, camera in hand. He snapped dozens of pictures a minute of the team making different plays and scores. Thomas was raking up the points, sure to take the team to the state finals.

“And Thomas Greene scores another 3 point shot!” the announcer yelled into his microphone, over the cheers of the crowd. “The game is tied!” Newt carefully snapped a picture of Thomas high fiving his teammate Minho.

Down on the court, the clock was running low. Only seconds remained in the game. He watched as the ball was passed between his teammates until it got to him. 

With only 3 seconds left in the game, Thomas took the shot. Right before the buzzer rang out, the ball sailed swiftly into the hoop, giving them the points needed to win the game. 

Up in the balcony, Newt jumped up cheering with the rest of the crowd. After a few seconds, he regained composure in time to get the perfect shot of Thomas being lifted onto the shoulders of his teammates.

After his team put him back down on the ground, Thomas began looking through the crowd to see if Teresa was there. Sure enough, he found her beside the bleachers, kissing her friend Aris. 

From his perch, Newt saw Thomas’ joyful expression drop hard. Wondering what it was that caused Thomas to crash like this, he looked through his lens and saw Teresa and Aris. A frown crossed his face at seeing this. “Bitch,” he muttered as he lowered his camera and left the balcony. 

Back on the court, Thomas started to walk up to catch his girlfriend in the midst of her betrayal, when he felt a hand catch his shoulder. 

He turned back to see his teammate Minho standing there, shaking his head. “Don’t do it, Thomas,” he said, barely above the roar of the crowd. “She’s not worth causing a scene.” 

Thomas pointed over to the two. “But she’s—“

“Yeah, I see her,” Minho said. “But you know what? Today, you’re state champion. Tomorrow, she’ll still be a cheater.” 

Thomas nodded in recognition. “So, why don’t you put that of until tomorrow, and celebrate tonight?”

Thomas took one last look over by the bleachers and noticed Teresa and Aris were gone. “Yeah, you’re right,” he said. 

“Celebration party at my house tonight, dude,” Minho said as he threw an arm around Thomas’ shoulder and led him out of the gym.

Later that night, as he was lying in bed, nearly asleep, Newt heard a tapping on his window. He walked over and opened it, seeing Thomas leaning out very wobbly.

“Tommy, are you drunk?” he asked. 

“Little,” Thomas slurred. “We celebrated winning the game!”

Newt winced at how loud Thomas was yelling. “Tommy, quiet down,” Newt whispered. “You don’t want to wake your mum.” 

“Can I tell you something?” Thomas said, lowering his voice. “Teresa is cheating on me!” 

The same frown crossed Newt’s face. “I know,” he said softly. “I saw at the game.

“What am I going to do?” Thomas was on the brink of tears. “I didn’t even love her, and yet it hurts.” 

A pang of hurt traveled through Newt’s chest. “What you do,” he started, “Is get a good night of sleep. Sleep off the alcohol, and with your head clear, talk to her.” 

Thomas smiled. A lopsided, drunken smile, but a smile nonetheless. “I love you, Newt,” he said. “You’re like a British Yoda.”

“Just go to bed, Tommy,” Newt said behind a smile “You’ll feel better tomorrow.”

He watched as Thomas closed his window and crawled into his bed, before doing the same. 

The next day, Thomas stepped out of his house to find Teresa standing in the driveway, leaning on her car. “Hey, Tom,” she said softly. 

“No,” Thomas simply said. “You don’t get to break my heart and then simply great me with a ‘hi, Tom.’”

“What do you want me to say?” Teresa asked, emotionally. 

Thomas just stood at his door, arms crossed. “How long?” 

“What do you mean how long?”

“Don’t do this shit,” Thomas said pointedly. “I’m hungover and in no mood for your games. How long have you been seeing Aris behind my back?”

“Last month,” Teresa said softly. “We didn’t mean for it to happen.”

“Didn’t mean for it to happen?” Thomas scoffed. “You know what? I’m done. We’re done.” 

He turned to go back inside. “THOMAS!” Teresa cried out. He stopped and turned to her. “What?”

“Don’t do this, please,” she pleaded. Thomas walked up to the girl. 

“This has been coming for a long time,” he told her. “Seriously, neither one of us are happy. We fight all the time. Honestly, this is the best thing that could happen to us.”

“But—“ Teresa started before Thomas cut her off. 

“Just go back to Aris,” he said. “I wish you two the best.”

The next couple of weeks went by fairly easily. Word of Thomas and Teresa’s breakup spread through the halls like wildfire. One doesn’t simply dump the head cheerleader without some rumors being spread around. Thomas’ personal favorite involved Teresa dumping him for the microscopic size of his manhood. Funny how nobody thinks Teresa was in the wrong.

But he didn’t mind. He was finally happy. Or on his way to happy, he believed. He’d get there eventually. He even began hanging out with Newt more, which Teresa wouldn’t allow for some stupid reason.

Tonight, however, saw Thomas getting ready to go to the prom. He’d planned earlier to go with Teresa, but the break up happened after the tickets became non-refundable. So, rather than be out 60 bucks, 85 with the tux rental, he decided to go anyway. 

As he finished putting on the tux, he opened his curtain to see Newt, on his bed surrounded by opened books and school folders. Thomas grabbed his phone and dialed.

He watched as Newt scrambled on his bed, searching for his own phone. He finally found it, and answered with a flustered “Hello.”

“Hey, man,” Thomas said.

Newt looked up out of his window and saw Thomas waving at his window. “Oh, hey, Tommy,” Newt chirped. A big smile crossing his face. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?” Thomas asked. “I have an extra ticket. It’s no trouble at all.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t,” Newt said with a frown. “I have to study. Ms. Paige said Monday’s test is worth 50% of our total grade. That’s a LOT of pressure.”

“That sucks, man, Thomas replied. “I had her last semester. She’s a real hardass, but a very good teacher.”

“I hope you have fun tonight.”

Outside, a car honked. “That’s the guys from the team,” Thomas said. “I’ve gotta go.” 

“Bye, Tommy,” Newt said before hanging up. He watched as Thomas turned the light off and left his bedroom. He then sat his phone down and turned his attention back to his calculus book. Although instead, his attention was drawn to a sheet of paper sticking out of one of his folders. He pulled it out, and saw it was the “I love you” note he wrote to Thomas a few weeks ago. He thought he’d thrown it away. 

Upon seeing this, he closed his notebook and climbed off of his bed. He then went to his door. “Mum, can you give me a ride?” he called out. 

At the prom, Thomas sat at a table, nursing a cup of punch. He wasn’t having the great time he was hoping for. Not one person asked him to dance. Whereas the rest of the team had found partners as soon as they got into the gym. 

The music switched from a fast pumping jam to a slow ballad. As the paired off couples around the room began to move closer together, Thomas looked out into the crowd and saw a figure moving toward him slowly. As he was halfway down the gym, he realized that it was Newt, dressed in a white suit, with a pink carnation tucked into the lapel. Honestly, Newt right now was the most beautiful vision he’d ever seen. 

Thomas got up and started walking toward his neighbor. Right before he got to Newt, a hand grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. As he got turned around, he noticed it was Teresa who stopped him, wearing a show stopping red gown that hugged her every curve perfectly, not leaving anything to the imagination. 

“Hey, Tom,” she said in a low voice. “How about a dance like old time?”

“No thank you,” Thomas said rolling his eyes before shrugging out of her grip. “What would your boyfriend say?” He then turned to walk away from the girl as Newt got closer. Teresa saw Newt and realized what was happening. She scoffed and walked away. 

“I thought you had to study,” Thomas said, as the two boys finally met. 

“I decided this was more important,” Newt smiled. 

“Well, you look amazing.”

Without any further answer, Newt reached into the pocket of his tux and pulled out a piece of paper. Unfolding it, he revealed his “I love you” note to Thomas.

Thomas smiled at this. “Are you serious?” he asked. 

“I am,” Newt replied. 

“Well then,” Thomas said, reaching into his pocket, and pulling out a piece of paper of his own. It looked a little more worn than Newt’s had. He unfolded it, and showed it to Newt, revealing the words “I love you” written in his messy scrawl. “I realized the night Teresa and I broke up.” 

Newt tucked his paper back into his pocket and leaned forward. Thomas, reading the cue, also leaned forward until their lips met in a tender kiss. Thomas wrapped his arms around Newt’s shoulders, pulling him in closer.

Around them, their classmates began applauding. Minho’s voice called out “Way to go, Thomas!” The two boys broke their kiss and smiled. “I guess this was a long time coming,” Thomas said through a laugh. 

“But it was worth the wait, Tommy,” Newt said, laying his head on Tommy’s shoulder. “Now, what do you say we have a dance?”

The End

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this. It's a fic that's really special to me.


End file.
